Paul Hartung Obituary

November 19, 1918 - October 26, 2007 Paul Allan Hartung was born November 19, 1918 in a farm house in rural Hoven, South Dakota to Joseph and Catherine (Kaiser) Hartung. e was the second eldest of ten children. Educated in Hoven through elementary school, he was sent off to a Catholic boys school in Epworth, Iowa for the eighth grade. He completed his education in mechanical engineering at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, South Dakota. During the buildup of the military just prior to World War II he enlisted in the Navy in 1940. He served on active duty until 1948, and then continued his service in the Naval Reserve until his retirement as a Commander in 1973. He took flight training at Pensacola, Florida in 1940 and was assigned as a seaplane pilot. When the war commenced he was immediately dispatched to Panama, where he flew the PBY Catalina on antisubmarine patrols over the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In 1942 he was reassigned to Patrol Squadron VP-81 in Key West, Florida. His next assignment was to the Naval Air Station at Port Lyautey, near Rabat, Morocco, where he flew antisubmarine patrols over the water approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar. The aircraft he flew on these missions was the PB4Y1, the naval version of the famous B-24J Liberator bomber. On 5 January 1945, while assigned to the Key West Naval Air Station, Paul Hartung married Miss Jayne Moore Thompson. Later in that year 1945 he was assigned to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland where he was a test pilot for the Tactical Test Squadron. Commander Hartung separated from active duty in 1948, but continued his reserve duties flying P2V Neptune aircraft at the Naval Air Station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became Commander of Squadron VP-811prior to his retirement. In 1950 the Hartungs moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota to join his brother Ignatius in managing and eventually owning their father's construction business. Hartung Construction designed and built grain elevators and pellet feeding systems in a five state region of the upper Midwest. Paul used his aviation experience in running the family business by flying his own Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft in his business travels to North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota and Iowa. The Hartung brothers closed their business and retired in 1980, selling off their assets in Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 1972 Paul was appointed to the South Dakota Aeronautics Board by Governor Dick Kneip, and he served on the board of directors for the Aberdeen Municipal Airport. In 1980 the Hartungs relocated to Colorado Springs to be near their family. He derived great enjoyment from the home he designed and built on the hill, from his daily swim with his friends at the Air Force Academy, and from his winter home in Naples, Florida. At age 70 he climbed the highest point in Colorado, Mt. Elbert (14,134) He was an avid and patient fan of the Denver Broncos and the Colorado Rockies. He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty two years, Jayne, his children: Susan Wehring of Sioux Falls, S.D.; Paul (Linda) Hartung of Highlands Ranch, Colorado; James Hartung, Carolyn (John) Kreider, and Colleen (Burt) Alexander of Colorado Springs; and grandchildren Jamie (Lisa) Wehrung Sara (Craig) Spring, Ryan Hartung and Emily Kreider; two great grandchildren and sisters Betty Braken of Minnetonka, MN, Mary Morrel of Hood River, OR, and Katie Grunendike of Aberdeen SD. Paul A. Hartung was an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life, a member of the greatest generation to ever live and now he is home, and now he is free. He will be buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.